WHEAT PLANTING - FALL HARVEST NEWSLETTER

Transcription

1 Experience. Knowledge. Integrity. YOUR Crop Insurance Solution. WHEAT PLANTING - FALL HARVEST NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER, 2017

2 Harvest is firing up in many areas and will soon be rapidly moving across our territory. This year s corn & soybean yields look to be more variable across our territory than we have seen in some time. We have clients who have chopped a large percentage of their corn with very low yield potential while other areas have received just enough rain to produce a very respectable crop. Combine this with the steep downtrend we ve seen in grain prices and it s clear that some producers in our territory will have a very disappointing year, financially. Once again this summer I have had the chance to hear ag experts talk about some very real and concerning early indicators that signal trouble on the horizon for the ag economy. If nothing changes from where we are today I think it s safe to say we will endure several years of challenging financial times in ag. For those producers with poor yields this Fall, the results could rapidly become catastrophic. As always, we strongly encourage you to be very mindful of your financial situation and projections. Enlist the help of your trusted advisors. If we can be of value, we are ready and waiting. Just call. Sincerely, Mike Scherer - President, Ag Risk Solutions mikescherer@ag-risk-solutions.com IMPORTANT! ENTITY/OWNERSHIP CHANGES IMPORTANT! If you have any recent changes in your ownership structure, please notify your Ag Risk rep immediately! Examples of common changes would be: additional owner of shares in your corporation, owner deleted from your corporation, changes in ownership of your trust, death, divorce, marriage, etc. It is imperative that we have all of this information correct on your policy or you could experience major problems in the event of a claim. Also, it is extremely important that you are selling your grain under the same name as what we have on your policy. 1

3 PROJECTED SPRING CROP HARVEST PRICES The spring crop Harvest Prices for Revenue Protection coverage will be set by the October average of the December futures for corn and November futures for soybeans. At this point, our Harvest Prices for corn, grain sorghum & soybeans are on pace to be significantly lower than the Base Prices. For those carrying Revenue Protection these lower Harvest Prices will effectively increase your yield guarantee. How much it increases will depend on how much lower the Harvest Prices end up being. Current projections are as follows: CORN Base Price: $3.96 Projected Harvest Price: $3.45 Yield Guarantee Increase: 15% GRAIN SORGHUM Base Price: $3.83 Projected Harvest Price: $3.34 Yield Guarantee Increase: 15% SOYBEANS Base Price: $10.19 Projected Harvest Price: $9.35 Yield Guarantee Increase: 9% Obviously, there is still ample time for prices to move between now and October. Hopefully prices strengthen, but this situation could also get worse. If you have any yields that are good but not great, remember this price change could lead to an unexpected claim. Your Ag Risk rep will be in touch with you after we have final Harvest Prices to discuss the possibility of revenue losses. 2

4 WHEAT PLANTING COVERAGE PRICES: 2018 Base Prices for wheat in KS, MO & NE will be averaged from 8/15 to 9/14. Current projections are as follows: Kansas: $4.83 Missouri: $4.98 Nebraska: $5.04 These prices are 5%-6% higher than they were in 2017 which, thankfully, will result in more dollars of coverage on your 2018 wheat crop. PREVENTED PLANTING: It seems like every year in some part of our territory we have clients who are prevented from planting all or a portion of their intended wheat crop, usually due to excess moisture. However, lack of moisture can also be an acceptable cause of loss for being prevented from planting. Prevented Planting due to lack of moisture is a complicated issue and in most cases we recommend a producer try to plant the wheat and hope for the best knowing coverage is in place if the crop doesn t materialize. If you find yourself unable to plant wheat for any reason, contact your Ag Risk rep immediately to discuss your options. BROADCASTING WHEAT: If you broadcast wheat seed and mechanically incorporate it in Kansas or Nebraska, you need to notify us within 72 hrs. of incorporation unless the land lies in Allen, Bourbon, Cherokee, Crawford, Labette, Montgomery, Neosho, Wilson or Woodson counties in KS. This practice is automatically insurable in these counties as well as all counties in Missouri so you do not need to notify us. In all other counties mechanically incorporated wheat will not be insurable unless you contact us so we can schedule a field inspection to verify the establishment of a stand. PLEASE REFER TO OUR WEBSITE OR CONTACT YOUR AG RISK REP FOR FINAL PLANT DATES ON WHEAT IN YOUR AREA. 3

5 SPRING CROP PREMIUM BILLING By the time you are reading this you should have already received your spring-crop premium invoice(s). You have until September 30 to pay this premium and not be charged any interest. If premiums are not paid by this date, interest charges will be added. Please note: if you have an unpaid claim outstanding on September 30 this will not keep the interest charges from being added. It is best to pay your premium prior to September 30 even if you have a claim outstanding. DESTROYING CROPS If you will be destroying any of your insured crops (e.g. chopping for silage, baling, tilling under, etc.) please contact your Ag Risk rep at least 10 days before you think you will begin destroying the crop. Crops destroyed without consent will not have a claim paid on them. UPCOMING IMPORTANT DATES SEPTEMBER 30: Last day to make policy changes, apply for insurance coverage or add a new county to your Wheat coverage. SEPTEMBER 30: Last day to pay spring crop premiums before interest charges attach. SEPTEMBER 30: Last day to add the Supplemental Coverage option to your wheat policy. NOVEMBER 14: Deadline for submitting 2017 Wheat yields. NOVEMBER 15: Last day to apply for Pasture, Rangeland and Forage Coverage. DECEMBER 10: End of the insurance coverage period for spring crops. If you still have standing crops in the field on this date, contact your Service Rep immediately. DECEMBER 15: Deadline for submitting 2018 Wheat acres. 4

6 PASTURE, RANGELAND AND FORAGE (PRF) INSURANCE PRF Insurance allows producers to place coverage on their pasture, hay ground or alfalfa against drought. This product uses a Rainfall Index to monitor drought conditions and pay claims. It is a USDA administered and subsidized insurance product. An application for insurance must be submitted by November 15. If you are interested in learning more about insuring your pasture or hay ground please contact your Service Rep. LOSS NOTIFICATION As you go through harvest, if you suspect a loss on any unit or crop, contact your Service Representative immediately! We must have claims turned in within 72 hours of the completion of harvest on the unit for them to be considered timely. Claims that are not turned in timely can take much longer to be finalized and paid. They could also deny payment completely. It never hurts to turn in a claim. If it ends up not being a payable loss they are easy to withdraw. MAINTAINING ACCURATE PRODUCTION RECORDS As you go through harvest this year, we want to remind you that it is very important that you work to keep accurate production records separate across your different units. A few quick tips: DELIVERED TO AN ELEVATOR: Write at least the farm name on each scale ticket DO NOT combine grain from two separate units on one grain ticket PLACED IN ON-FARM STORAGE: Keep a written record of each load as it is placed into storage Mark your grain bins after completing each unit Use grain-cart or other on-farm scales to weigh each load before it is placed in storage Use yield-mapping technology to document yields from each farm Please contact your Ag Risk rep for more detailed instructions! 5

7 DICAMBA DAMAGE ON SOYBEANS As I am certain you are all aware, there has been a significant issue this summer with dicamba herbicide drifting onto neighboring fields and damaging soybeans. Unfortunately, this type of damage is not covered under your crop insurance policy. The crop insurance policy is designed to cover naturallyoccurring, unavoidable losses and therefore does not cover certain perils such as livestock damage, manmade fire or chemical drift. To make matters worse, not only are these losses uncovered, but in the past you were forced to report these reduced yields in your APH database which will lead to lower coverage on future crops for up to 10 years. For the 2017 and succeeding crop years RMA is now allowing producers to avoid having these artificially low yields damage their coverage in future years. While the actual loss still won t be covered under your policy, this at least allows you to avoid the long-term effects of this event. In order to qualify for this provision you must report the damage to your crop insurance agent in a timely manner that will allow an adjuster to make an appraisal of the degree of damage and number of acres affected. In regards to dicamba damage on soybeans, the adjuster must be able to appraise the crop while the damaged foliage is still intact. We will not have the ability to make this adjustment after all the leaves have dropped and certainly not once harvest is completed. If you have any soybeans that have sustained dicamba damage (or other herbicide, fire or livestock damage) please contact your Ag Risk rep immediately so we can discuss the best options given your situation. SUPPORT HARVEY VICTIMS Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected by the terrible flooding in Houston and surrounding areas. We encourage you to donate to help those affected at: ghcf.org/hurricane-relief 6

8 Experience. Knowledge. Integrity. YOUR Crop Insurance Solution Office - Atchison, KS Tony Elizondo - Manhattan, KS Mike Chartier - Hiawatha, KS Jennifer Forant - Nortonville, KS Mike Scherer - Atchison, KS Kurt Schwarz - La Cygne, KS Ag Risk Solutions is an Equal Opportunity Provider